The Longed-For Arrival Of This Year’s Spring!
Sunday 20 March marks a brand new beginning
Fertility . . . renewal . . . rebirth . . . Nature’s Thing
So many ways of celebrating
The longed-for arrival of this year’s Spring!
© Forrest W. Heaton February 2022
20 March of this year is the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere! Yes, it is a grand day to bring a plant or a bouquet of fresh flowers, perhaps daffodils or the like, into your home or office to remind you daily that it is Spring! Also, yes, it is a grand day to intentionally spend a few hours in nature, perhaps a park or prairie or woodland to smell the flowers, feel the breeze, celebrate the season!
Equinox. The old Farmers Almanac advises “the word equinox comes from the Latin words for ‘equal night’—aequus (equal) and nox (night). Webster defines equinox as “the time when the sun crosses the equator, making night and day of equal length in all parts of the earth.” The Spring Equinox (also called the Vernal Equinox) marks the time when the sun is heading toward the northern half of the globe, the Northern Hemisphere being tilted more toward the sun resulting in increased daylight hours and warmer temperatures. In the Northern Hemisphere, the opposite occurs in the fall, the Autumnal Equinox occurring this year 22 September. “Equinoxes are the only two times each year that the Sun rises due east and sets due west for all of us on earth.”
So, having discussed the earth and all of its (currently 7.8 billion) peoples, how about us—those kind souls reading this blog post? While we’re in the parks, prairies or woodlands, (or home or office), how might we be celebrating? For most of us, this is a time of honoring fertility, renewal, rebirth, new beginnings. Many celebrate with festivals and holidays. Some might choose planting their garden. Some might choose asking a family member or friend who might not otherwise get into nature to join them in nature for the celebration. You might look up “Ostara” on the internet and see what might apply to your life today. The options are endless for the inspired. Enjoy YOUR Spring Equinox!
